Locals line up for Transformer sequel

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Despite a series of bad reviews and regular ticket prices of more than $9, locals still were lining up Wednesday to catch the latest comic book adaptation, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

And while some coming out of theaters admitted the plot was slightly lacking, most standing in line for a prime seat at the flick Wednesday said they mainly were looking for a return of the action and special effects that drew them to the first "Transformers" movie, not necessarily a well-written story line.

Others, candidly admitted regardless of how the plot falls, the film was worth waiting in line for simply to catch a scene featuring Megan Fox, who returns to the sequel as the girlfriend who gets left behind when Sam, played by Shia LaBeouf, heads to college.

"It's awesome," said 15-year-old Crystal Davis, who stood in line for about a half-hour Wednesday in hopes of snagging a good seat for the film.

Some, like Davis, purchased tickets Tuesday. Others reserved ticketsas early as a week ago, while a few were lucky enough to get the last tickets available Wednesday afternoon, as all but a few of the shows at Tall City 14 sold out. The earlier midnight showing of the film sold out, as well.

Such ticket sales have some wondering if the sequel will surpass the profits of the first movie, which brought in more than $700 million in box-office totals worldwide.

As long as profits keep coming in, said owner of Dale's Planet Comics in Midland Dale Morris, filmmakers likely will keep using comic book plots, as the adaptations require little new writing even if some don't quite follow the lines of the original comics.

"It's too easy for Hollywood," Morris said. "They open up an entire film in pre-made form; it's a story board."

Marvel originally released the "Transformers" comics in the 1980s and they were brought back later through Dreamwave comics and most recently IDW Publishing, which released books leading up to the movie that came out Wednesday, Morris said.

Though the first film didn't follow especially close to the original 1980s-era comics, he said, as filmmakers are learning, adaptations don't necessarily have to stick to the original book to be successful, they simply have to provide the basic story lines combined with the film-making techniques people expect when going to the theater today.

"You stick to too much in the '80s in the 2000 era and you're not going to be selling," Morris said.

Some standing in line for the film Wednesday said they were longtime fans of the "Transformers" comic books and cartoons. But, others said they specifically remember not liking the story line when they were growing up and came to the sequel because they hoped, like the first film, it wouldn't be a replica of the cartoons they remember.

"I never got into the cartoon," said Randall Handey, after waiting in line about 20 minutes.

Others agreed and said they simply never really were exposed to the cartoon and first became "Transformers" fans after the 2007 film.

"I was a big fan of the first one," said Kyle Napier, explaining why this movie was worth purchasing tickets ahead of time for and then standing in line to see.

Napier and friends said the fast-paced sequence of the first movie made it fun to watch even for the young adults who weren't quite old enough to have been big fans of the original 1980s Marvel comic book.

"It was action packed, Megan Fox looked good," said Brett Hohle, laughing at his own admission that it wasn't just the movie's plot that drew he and his friends to the sequel.

When comic book adaptations succeed at the box office, Morris said, it often does mean more comic book customers for people like him. Plus, he said, successful movies usually mean comic book companies are willing to spend a little more on the quality of their products.

As he unloaded a new shipment of comic books Wednesday, Morris said he usually sees a rush of new comic book fans the weekend following the release of a movie adaptation so he's expecting to see "Transformers" books start flying off the shelf Saturday.

Whether that will be the case after Wednesday's expectant fans finished viewing the film remains to be seen.

But, fans said Wednesday, despite criticisms that the flick was too long, contained too many metal creatures morphing from cars, jets and even microwaves, or that is was simply ridiculous as many critics have called it, they weren't going to be turned away from the series too easily.

"To me it was a good adaptation," Morris said, of the first film. "I don't think anybody had a real rift with it."